Chocolate cake made without flour, sugar, or dairy. Low carb and gluten-free, of course. Cake made out of a surprise ingredient, one that will make you wrinkle you’re nose upon hearing it. This cake is good. So good, in fact, that I had to have a mug of stevia-sweetened pomegranate tea and go to bed, so I’d stop shaving off “test” slices.

You know those feelings that come over you when you play around a bit with a recipe, adding a pinch of this and a tablespoon of that? The nervousness as you put the batter in the oven, the fiddling around with the baking time, the checking and rechecking for doneness? The anticipation as you’re cutting the cake, hoping upon hope that’s it’s not too dry, too mushy, too crumbly?

It’s always a rollercoaster of emotion… this time, with a very sweet ending. Why was this particular culinary journey so nerve-wracking?

The cake is made out of black beans. Beans, seriously!

Even if you’re the fiercest of bean haters (like I am), you’ll fall head over heels for this moist chocolate cake. I haven’t have a flour- and sugar-based chocolate cake in a very long time, so my roommates had to confirm this cake’s rockstar status. Safe to say they agreed with me, and hungrily polished off the slices I provided for them. Served with a cold glass of almond milk, it was all the more refreshing after a day spent soaking up the Carolina sun.

Note: I cut 1 single layer in half, width-wise, and stacked the semicircular halves on top of one another to achieve the 2 layer cake shown here. Just double the recipe to make a whole 2 layer cake. The frosting gets its rich dark coloring from Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder.

The best part about this cake is that it’s totally budget-friendly. It’s basically beans, eggs, and cocoa. That gives you no excuse to not try it, ya hear?

Secret Ingredient Healthy Chocolate Cake

2013-11-01 20:27:20

Yields 1

This gluten-free chocolate cake is so decadent and moist, you’ll never guess its secret ingredient – black beans! The key to making a sugar-free cake taste good is to use a blend of sugar-free sweeteners (stevia, Splenda, Truvia, erythritol, etc.). You can also use honey in place of the sugar-free sweeteners, if you like. Just taste make sure the batter is sweet enough before you bake it!

Spray a 9″ cake pan with extra virgin olive oil cooking spray, or just grease it with a thin layer of butter.

Dust cocoa all over the inside of the pan, tapping to evenly distribute.

Cut a round of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan, then grease the parchment lightly.

Alternatively, you can make cupcakes. If you’d like to bake the batter as cupcakes, line 16 cupcake tins with paper liners.

Drain and rinse beans in a strainer or colander. Shake off excess water.

Place beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, stevia (if using) and salt into blender.

Blend on high until beans are completely liquefied. No lumps!

Whisk together cocoa powder and baking powder.

In a bowl, use a mixer to cream the butter with sweetener (erythritol or honey) until light and fluffy.

Mix in the two remaining eggs, beating for a minute after each addition.

Beat the bean mixture the rest of the batter.

Finally, stir in cocoa powder and water (if using), and beat the batter on high for one minute, until smooth.

Scrape batter into pan and smooth the top.

Grip pan firmly by the edges and rap it on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles.

If you are baking the cake as a single round layer, bake for 40-45 minutes. If you are baking the batter as cupcakes, bake for 35 minutes. Cake is done when the top springs back when you press on it.

Remove cake to a cooling rack to cool for 10 minutes.

Turn out cake from pan, and flip over again on to cooling rack.

Let cake cool until it reaches room temperature, then cover in plastic wrap. For BEST flavor, let cake sit overnight!

If you are stacking this cake, level top with a long serrated knife, shaving off layers until the cake round is flat and even.

Store cake or cupcakes in the refrigerator. For the best flavor and texture, warm the cake to room temperature before serving.

Notes

*You can use a blend of Erythritol and stevia in place of Truvia. Use 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons of erythritol, and 2 teaspoons of pure stevia extract (I like Trader Joe’s brand). Experiment with various combinations of sugar-free sweeteners, if you like. Be sure to combine multiple sugar-free sweeteners for the best taste!

Powder erythritol or xylitol in a coffee grinder or Magic Bullet for a minute or two, until extremely fine in texture (reminiscent of powdered sugar). Let sweetener settle in grinder before opening the top.

Stir powdered sweetener into butter with a spatula, then beat until smooth.

Update #2: As of 2012, this cake has spread its chocolaty lovin’ all over the blogosphere! Here are some of the versions of this cake I’ve stumbled upon at other blogs. Feast your eyes and try not to drool too much looking at the phenomenal creations from some very talented food bloggers!

432 Comments on Healthier Chocolate Cake with a Secret

Keegan

Breea

August 22, 2012 at 11:33 am (3 years ago)

I have no particular intolerances or anything, just a risk of diabetes, but decided to try this recipe out tonight. I couldn’t find any black beans for the life of me so used red kidney beans and decided to go for coconut oil instead of butter and Cocao powder. It turned out pretty damned good I must say, just don’t taste it before you put it in the fridge overnight like I did or you might traumatize yourself lol.

Anonymous

Magaolimpia

Kimberly

May 25, 2009 at 11:44 am (6 years ago)

OMG! I am so making this today! How exciting to have a flourless chocolate cake! You can’t beat that:)I’m finding that I have a lot of trouble with nuts(nut flours) lately so this is perfect.Can’t wait!!

Jendeis

Ninette

Rachel: untilthethinladysings.blogspot.com

May 25, 2009 at 8:03 pm (6 years ago)

You are such a genius! I made a chocolate cupcake recipe once from bean flour and it worked really well- but it was expensive, and the whole time I was thinking it was probably too many carbs. Look how you have fixed that! How do you figure these science-cooking things out!?!? Kudos!

SarahKate

HEAL ~ BALANCE ~ LIVE

May 26, 2009 at 1:42 pm (6 years ago)

I tried it and it’s true, no hint of bean after the cake sat overnight. I used all honey to sweeten the cake and I think next time I will double the amount but with frosting it was great. Thanks for this creative recipe!

I tried it and it’s true, no hint of bean after the cake sat overnight. I used all honey to sweeten the cake and I think next time I will double the amount but with frosting it was great. Thanks for this creative recipe!

Meagan

May 26, 2009 at 3:34 pm (6 years ago)

Hey Lauren, that looks great! My mouth dropped when I saw the picture! Experimenting with chocolate and interesting ingredients in baking is certainly fun. Just yesterday my mom ripped an article out of a magazine for sweet potato brownies! I’ve also seen brownies made with black beans, but this is the FIRST black bean cake I’ve encountered. It looks so delicious, and my mouth dropped at the picture! (I just had to say that twice). Have you ever considered joining the Daring Bakers?

Kelly

Jess

May 27, 2009 at 5:13 pm (6 years ago)

I already posted, but as I’m enjoying another heavenly slice of this cake I wanted to return and say so. This is NOT a cake that’s good for being made of beans, or for being sugarless… it’s just an amazing cake. The beans actually improve a common cake dilemma- flour cakes are often too dry for me, and this is moist and delicious. With the cake being this cheap, I can’t think of a reason to ever make a chocolate cake with flour cake again.

jh

May 27, 2009 at 5:49 pm (6 years ago)

Great looking cake. I make brownies that are sort of like this, with black beans. Amazingly moist. My favorite cake, however, is a nice carrot cake. Still haven’t figured out a good substitute for cream cheese frosting, however.

Rachel – I have never tried bean flour–might have to hunt some down! Haha, I just play around with grams of macronutrients on calorieking, and also just make a lot of inedible mistakes until something works out.

Anon – Thanks for sharing that recipe! It sounds wonderful.

Alisa – Crazy huh? I would not have believed beans could make a cake this good.

Cathy – Yellow chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is MY favorite cake, too! Will have to work on that.

Esi – Thank you! Yeah, it’s hard to believe it until you see it.

Lorraine – I bet these are beans like you have never tasted them.

SarahKate – Thank you! The summer sun was out when I took these photos.

Heal ~ Balance ~ Live – Thank you for trying the cake and sharing your results! Glad to hear you had success with it.

Anon – I will have to take a crack at pudding cake! Sounds yummy. I hope this chocolate chocolate cake meets your standards.

Meagan – Joining the DB is a great idea! I’ll look into it. Sweet potato brownies?! That’s almost as crazy as bean cake. Try ‘em out and let us know how they are!

Jess – Your cake looks fabulous! Thanks so much for trying it out and sharing your results. Topping it with slices almonds is brilliant!

Kelly – Thank you! Hope you like it.

Jess – Thanks for the kind words! I am SO glad you are enjoying this cake. It IS so moist because of the beans. Who needs flour when you have real food?

Jh – Why do you need to sub cream cheese frosting? Check out my side bar for a sugar-free low carb version. Are you dairy-free as well? Carrot cake is one of my faves, too.

Katie

May 28, 2009 at 11:03 am (6 years ago)

Lauren, you have outdone yourself again! I made this cake yesterday and it is delicious! Moist and tasty! No bean-y flavor either. My carb and flour eating husband even liked it a lot! I just had a quick question, when I make cakes with Erythritol I often have them crystalize in the fridge. Do you have any ideas how to keep that from happening? :)Thank you for all of your wonderfully delicious recipes! Keep up your amazing work.

Carla

May 28, 2009 at 4:58 pm (6 years ago)

Thank you! This looks amazing and I plan on making it today! The kids ran over to drool over the screen and ask if I could make it and “fought” about who could eat the most, lol! I used to make bean cookies but kind of forgot about them. I have tons of beans and no way to use them so this is a great thing to do with them!

Sophie

Mommy Kong

May 30, 2009 at 9:58 pm (6 years ago)

I have to admit, I was very skeptical about using the black beans. But I made it anyway, and it was delish! I let it sit overnight as suggested and it’s really good. The cake is so moist, it doesn’t need the frosting. Good work, Lauren. Any ideas for a white/yellow cake using chick peas?

Cathy

Liz

May 31, 2009 at 1:29 pm (6 years ago)

I just want to THANK YOU for all of the hard work you put into this blog!!! Seriously. SOOOOOO appreciated. You reignited the baking-fire that I had so long ago! Since going gluten-free (7 years ago) I quit baking – it was just always a disaster. But I’ve started using your recipes – and they ROCK! Now I’m inspired to start tweaking and learning how to bake! I am now gluten, casein-free… and low-carb. I love you! seriously!And I made this cake – simply amazing. My hubby LOVED it (and I made it with lentils, since we didn’t have beans – it turned out great!) In fact, he loved it EVEN more since it was made with lentils, since it is good for you!

delectable ditherings

May 31, 2009 at 5:29 pm (6 years ago)

Mmmm, really great cake! Thanks so much. Surprisingly easy to make and tasty… didn’t taste beany at all. It can be so hard getting cake cravings on a gluten free/sugar free diet but this really hit the spot.

Anonymous

June 3, 2009 at 1:23 am (6 years ago)

Wow, that looks good. But I don't understand what's wrong with using dairy or chocolate in a cake? It's not something you eat a lot of.

Why would you put the cake on an upside down plate? Do you think that it looks better? I think that it makes you look the opposite of smart as you will get crumbs everywhere. That's why the majority of people use plates the way they were designed.

To sum it up, I think you are pretty dumb, but the cake looks good. I like beans.

Adrielle

November 10, 2012 at 10:41 pm (2 years ago)

I don’t know if this will answer your question, but I have a very sensitive stomach and in fact stopped eating beans years ago because of terrible stomach aches. I was worried about trying this cake at a friends party, but decided to be brave and just taste it..
It was so unexpectedly tasty that I ate two pieces and decided it was worth risking illness. I never got a stomach ache, or even “tummy bubbles” as my mom calls them. She made it for my birthday the following weekend and I had leftovers for two days, still fine! I was thrilled, and my more conventional friends were a little shocked when the ingredients came up after they had all tried it and been impressed. ; )

Megan Sandoz

June 5, 2009 at 12:02 pm (6 years ago)

Just tried the cake, and it was fabulous! Thanks for doing what you do. I recently had to go sugar and dairy free (had to tweak the recipe just a little), and your blog is so helpful and encouraging! Keep it up!

liv

June 5, 2009 at 10:55 pm (6 years ago)

I mean this in the nicest possible way….but… are you on crack? Beans? Seriously… Even if I could escape the idea of eating Mexican food for dessert, (which I can't) then WTF is the point of eating dessert if it isn't dessert. This is like a paradox in the space time continuum…. I mean, pasty? Nasty? If this is what life has become then pull out your gun shoot me in the eyeball, shove my body in the oven and broil me back to dust… I protest the mere idea of this recipe…. Alright, that's it! I'm taking back up smoking and eating 3 meals a day from McDonald's because of you… you… butcherer of dreams.

Jackie

Made this yesterday. I froze half and frosted the other half with a cocoa and cream cheese frosting.

This has to be one of the strangest recipes I've tried but, IT WORKS!

I did go the long way round as I'm in the UK and could only find dried black beans, so had to go through the whole soaking, cooking bit first but even though my blended beans were not totally smooth, once the cake was cooked you couldn't tell it was anything other than a conventionally made cake. No bits or anything! I'm rambling….I'm still amazed.

Having read your reply to another comment I will try some different beans that I can get tinned.

And ignore the nasty comments. Why do people feel the need to be so rude.

Anonymous

June 6, 2009 at 1:04 pm (6 years ago)

This recipe was amazing!!! The best recipe I have ever tried. No bean taste at all – instead this rich, deep, decadent dark chocolate flavor. This recipe will be especially enjoyed by people who have discerning palette for gourmet dessert foods.

Anonymous

June 7, 2009 at 5:07 pm (6 years ago)

Hi Lauren,This is so cool. I have been thinking of trying beans as a base for cake or cookies but you did it for me! I just stumbled on you when googling that idea. I like your profile and what you do. My only comment is that erythritol and all of the other sugar alcohol products are not natural or safe. Stevia is safe. Is there a reason you don't use it alone or with other sweeteners that are totally natural? And to Anon re the plate: I am a photographer by trade and think the upside down plate for a photo was inspired. Cake shows best.And to Liv: Much of the world has desserts that are made from a bean base. We are just behind.

Lauren

June 10, 2009 at 4:20 am (6 years ago)

Katie – So glad you and your husband enjoyed the cake! Every time I use erythritol, I get that effect after refrigerating cakes with erythritol, too. I guess that means the cakes you bake with it are best the day they are made!

Jess – Thank you SO much for the twitter tip!

Carla – I would love to see your recipe for bean cookies! Hope you and the kids enjoyed the cupcakes.

Lis – I sent you an email!

Sophie – Hope you like the cake! Your comments are always so thoughtful.

Mommy Kong – I will have a recipe featuring chickpeas soon! Not sure if a yellow cake would be good with beans, just 'cause of the beaniness not meshing well with vanilla! Might have to try it with coconut flour, though.

Cathy – Glad you liked it! I'm working on a yellow cake.

Liz – What a nice comment! I appreciate the feedback so much. Good to hear you are baking again! I understand your frustration. So glad you and your husband enjoyed the cake!

delectable ditherings – I am so happy you liked the cake! I agree about it being tough to eat this way at times. Thank goodness for the blogosphere and all the creative cooks outh there.

Anonymous – Eat what makes YOU feel the best. It is different for all of us!

Sean – Haha, this cake does not cause problems in that way.

Megan – So glad you enjoyed this cake. Would you share your tweaks next time? It's great to hear that you adapted it to suit your needs!

Liv – Thanks for stopping by!

Jackie – What a considerate comment. You took the long way with dried beans? Such a trooper! Great to hear you can go that route if need be. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous – High praise indeed! Glad you liked the cake… thanks!

Anonymous – Bean cookies! Inspired. I'll get cracking on those. I don't use stevia by itself in baked goods because the sweetness bakes out, so you have to use so much that the stevia leaves a bitter taste. I formulate my recipes for taste, and gear them towards low carbers/diabetics who need noncaloric sweeteners that do not trigger an insulin response. Erythritol is naturally occurring, found in melons and even our own bodies! We all must use what works for us.

Anonymous

June 10, 2009 at 7:42 am (6 years ago)

awesome recipe! i'm newly gluten-free and baking with all those different flours is proving to be a bit of a headache, (a lot of them aren't available in Australia) and i always feel so guilty using almond meal cos it's so high calorie. i didn't tell mum what was in this until she'd tried it and she was completely shocked! i used sugar in the place of stevia as i'm not really familiar with it. i used ten teaspoons, i'll probably use a bit more next time (splenda not being gluten free, in Australia at least). This was an excellent post exam treat to myself, thanks heaps!

Rose

Cara

June 11, 2009 at 12:12 am (6 years ago)

I've given up artificial sweeteners so I have some erithrytol, but I haven't baked with it yet. You're definitely inspiring me to try it! I also noticed you have a lot of cottage cheese recipes – I am a big fan of using it in creative and different ways too.

divalou

June 11, 2009 at 8:45 pm (6 years ago)

i found black beans and made this! Its a bit strange but I think probably the next day it will taste better and i only had baking powder. Maybe using both it would have a better texture. But Still, it is YUMMY!!!

Em

June 13, 2009 at 7:47 pm (6 years ago)

I just made this last night, and it's amazing! My kids are having it for breakfast. I used black soybeans for a lower carb count, erythritol but no stevia (I prefer a little less sweetness), and butter instead of coconut oil. 1/8 cake has 190 calories, 14.4g fat, 6.8g carbs, 3.4g fiber (leaving 3.4g net carbs), and 8.9g protein.

I was afraid to put it in the fridge because of the erythritol, so I just left it out overnight with a towel over it.

Anonymous

June 15, 2009 at 4:23 pm (6 years ago)

I made this yesterday, using black soy beans (ultra low carb – I use the Eden Foods brand), and I left off the frosting to make this more of a snack cake. I have to say I'm truly impressed – rich, moist, deep complex flavor, but not cloyingly sweet like some chocolate cakes. I'm a baker, and extremely picky, but this makes me HAPPY. Well done!

divalou

June 18, 2009 at 9:20 pm (6 years ago)

I made this for the 2nd time today. I halved the recipe, (for portion control!) soaked the beans over night, simmered them for 30mins when I got home, whizzed them up and everything else as per the recipe. Then when all the mixture was ready, i plopped it all back in the blender and whizzed it up again. THEN I chopped up a 74% chocolate bar and mixed the chunks into the cake before baking it for like 45 mins. Once cool, I used the FULL mixture amount for the frosting and OHHH MYYY GOD – FOODGASM. This is dangerously good hee hee.

Gluten Free Japan

First of all, I wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your blog. I'm also a big foodie (graduated college this year, so not a student anymore)but care about nutrition.

I tried your recipe but made a few modifications. Instead of black beans, I used adzuki beans (my blog is in Japanese and adzuki beans are easier to find than black beans over on the island, it seems). I didn't have stevia, so I used cup-for-cup splenda instead. I also omitted the baking soda and increased the baking powder to 1 TBS.

I made mine a layer cake with fresh whipped cream and topped it off with chocolate shavings (I have pics on my blog, so if you can critique my cake, it would be great!)

Tammy

June 22, 2009 at 4:43 pm (6 years ago)

Hi Lauren, I made this at the weekend. It tastes AMAZING, and 2 days later is still moist and delicious. I'm a bit confused tho because I made a mistake with the recipe and used 15 ounces of black beans, rather than a 15 ounce can (i'm guessing the 15 ounces includes the water it is in, and is not the drained weight?) and yet despite the fact that I didn't double any of the other ingredients it is still sweet and totally yummy… just twice the size! (and took 1hr to cook through). This has left me a little bewildered… I want to make it again, but am not sure whether to make the same mistake again on purpose!! Any suggestions/explanations would be appreciated..

Anonymous

June 28, 2009 at 6:33 pm (6 years ago)

Just curious if you have any recommendations as to what a 'Good-tasting pure stevia extract' would be. All the ones I have tried have a horrible bitter aftertaste. I would truly love to be able to use the stuff, but that one aspect alone makes me shy away from it.

Bonnie

July 2, 2009 at 3:00 am (6 years ago)

I can't wait to try this – I think I'm going to make it for this weekend's 4th of July festivities!

My favorite kind of cake is angelfood…think you can "low carb" that?! My second favorite is peanut butter and my third favorite is white with buttercream frosting (very sweet). Needless to say, I haven't had any of these for a long time!

Anonymous

July 5, 2009 at 3:43 am (6 years ago)

Hi Lauren, I love your Blog and your recipes. I was thinking about you cake and shaving off the top to make it fit. Well all you have to do is cut it in half and put one part of the half upside down on a concave plate and then place the bottom of the other half on top of the first half and you will still have a nice top to frost. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. Michelle

Lis

Just wanted to let you know I did make this cake – my first baking attempt since having to start using insulin.

I was very VERY impressed with the finished cake, bless your cotton socks – thank you!

I have questions though but I don't know if you'll be able to answer them, since I had to tweak the recipe a bit due to the items I had in my pantry.

Okay so I see someone else had a problem with the crystalization due to the erythritol. Do you think leaving the cake on the counter instead of refrigerating it would help this problem?

Also, my biggest tweak was I had to leave the baking powder out since I only had dutch process cocoa in the house. It was a 50/50 guess.. I know either baking powder or baking soda reacts in not such a great way with dutch process cocoa, so I hope I left out the correct one. har! Anyhoo, my cake didn't rise at all.. it was about the height of one of your layers.. I'm guessing it was because I didn't use the soda and/or my baking powder is old.

Finally.. although, like I said, it was deeee licious, it had a bit of a spongey texture, nothing like flourless cakes I've had in the past, and it was quite a bit more dense than the one in your photographs.. mine looked completely solid where yours looks like there are tiny air bubbles in it. Or is that just the photograph? Any clue as to why the texture didn't turn out exactly right?

Regardless of my problems with the cake, I think it's fabulous and that other diabetics should know about it. I'm blogging about it this morning, so if you want to have a look-see at how mine turned out, please feel free.

Lauren

July 6, 2009 at 10:24 am (6 years ago)

Lis – Great to hear you're baking again despite the health challenge! Glad you enjoyed the cake. To address some of the issues:

You're dead on about the erythritol! Leaving it on the counter definitely helps to keep it from crystallizing. It should keep for 2-3 days anyway! Nuking slices of cake individually in the microwave seems to help a bit, too (if you're frozen it for storage).

Someone else told me their cake didn't rise, and I guess leaving out one of the leaveners in the culprit. I'm not too technical with these things to be honest. My Rumford baking powder comes in a tiny tin, so it gets replaced frequently. That might be a strategy to consider! Also, I beat the batter pretty well after mixing everything together. Did you dust the cake pan with cocoa powder so the cake could climb up the sides? Finally, my oven runs quite hot, so try baking the cake at 25 degrees higher to achieve a better rise.

And for the texture issue:Did you pack the cocoa in the measuring spoon? I tend to scoop it straight from the can with my tablespoon. Did you use 5 eggs?

I hope you get a chance to try the recipe again. You might like it better with the honey, if you can handle the carbs. Erythritol is just so wonderful because of its health properties! You will learn to love these sweeteners more and more as you transition away from the white stuff, Lis. I will be checking out your post!

Lis

July 6, 2009 at 10:32 am (6 years ago)

Thanks for getting back so quickly! So quick, I haven't finished writing up my post yet! hehee

Oh yeah, I'll definitely try this cake again.. keep it out of the fridge, make sure I've got regular cocoa powder and fresh baking soda/powder. I did use 5 eggs and I dusted the pan with the cocoa powder, but didn't pay attention to how far up I went, next time I'll make sure to dust the whole way up. And I too, scoop with the measuring spoon. I'll try a higher temp'd oven too.

Thanks so much sweetie! Gimme another 15 min. or so and the post will be up.

Anonymous

July 10, 2009 at 10:09 am (6 years ago)

Lauren / Lis

I thought the cake in the picture is the full cake cut in half and stacked (leaving effectively half a circle)? in which case it would make sense that Lis's cake would have been 'about the height of one of your layers'? No?

CDM

July 10, 2009 at 10:48 pm (6 years ago)

I just discovered your blog today and love the looks of you black bean cake. I recently made a Vanilla bean cake (after being inspired by The Spunky Coconut). After that success, I am eager to bake again with beans. Looking forward to trying this recipe out. THANKS!!

Anonymous

Healthy chocolate

July 28, 2009 at 7:51 am (6 years ago)

Thanks for the yummy healthy recipe. Many feels that chocolate is not good for health. But some are good for health like, unsweetened chocolate, bitter-sweet chocolate, raw chocolate bar. One can add grinded cacao beans to smoothie preparations, sweet dishes, tea or beverages, yoghurts, granolas, ice-cream or sweet preparations. One can even make beverage by blending the powdered cacao with hot water or with milk substitutes like hemp milk, multigrain milk, or coconut milk. Also chocolate sauce can be made. To know more on it, refer

Anonymous

August 21, 2009 at 12:24 am (6 years ago)

Great recipe! Thank You!i added a couple of cups of walnuts and a few Tbs carob in addition to the cocoa and it is just a lovely texture and a delicious cake even without icing , we just sivved a dash of confectioners sugar on top.

speedwell

September 4, 2009 at 2:45 am (6 years ago)

Successfully made two layers of cake with black soy beans. Tastes awesome, though the chill of the erythritol does come through a bit more than I want it to in bits of the cake. Once kept overnight on the counter in a ziploc baggie, the cool flavor should lessen.

I couldn't figure out how to keep the center of the cake from settling too much. I completely ruined the first layer I tried yesterday, but I think I used dutch cocoa by accident and 350 was not quite the right temp. The trial layer didn't quite hold together, either. I also had used regular black beans instead of black soybeans.

With natural cocoa and fresher baking powder, and using the canned black soy beans, and an oven setting of 325 for a whole hour and ten minutes (!), things seem to have done better.

At least now I can give my diabetic brother the 40th-birthday cake he's been whining about not being able to have for about six months now. Boy, won't he be surprised.

chewymama

Finally got a chance to make this yesterday. Totally awesome!!! You cant taste the beans at all. My baking soda is old so I didnt get the rise I wanted but the texture was like real cake.

The frosting was very light brown for me? I added a tiny bit of agave for taste and that made it a bit thinner. I still dont know how you got it so thick on yours – I filled it and iced the top but didnt have enough for the sides.

Definitely will make again! I was out of vanilla so I used almond and put in some real vanilla beans and that was great too! I also made the frosting in the food processor.

Katrina

September 24, 2009 at 6:21 pm (6 years ago)

Lauren, I am a 15 year old girl who has MANY food allergies, (and is a health nut!), so I can only eat fruits,vegetable, beans, nuts, and eggs. I was getting SOOOO sick of such a limited diet when I found your blog!! I saw this recipe a week ago, and have already made it four times! It turned out perfectly every time! Thanks so much!

The Fiskeaux Family

September 27, 2009 at 4:38 pm (6 years ago)

Wow. We don't have any food allergies, but this cake sounds AMAZING! Mostly, I just want to eat that thick chocolate frosting. If you're still answering questions about this post, I have a few.1. We don't have erythritol or xylitol. How much stevia/powdered sugar/honey would you recommend to replace it in the frosting recipe?2. How much "good-tasting pure stevia extract" did you add?3. We have both "regular" and clear liquid stevia. Which of those did you use for the cake and the frosting?4. Can regular salt be used instead of sea salt? How will that affect the final product?Thanks for your patience!

Tanya

Nicole

October 3, 2009 at 3:06 pm (5 years ago)

This sounds great, I am excited about baking it for a friend with Gluten allergies! I have a question about using Splenda though – would you replace this with Splenda for Baking? Generally, you use half as much of this product as sugar when replacing it in a recipe so I wasn't sure if I should use 1 cup of Splenda or .5 cup of Splenda. Thanks!

Jess

funmama26

October 24, 2009 at 1:26 am (5 years ago)

I made the yellow cake this week for my birthday. Put heavy cream whipped with a tablespoon of sugar free pudding in between layers. Covered top layer with chocolate icing and we devoured Boston Cream Pie. My 6 kids all loved it. Baking chocolate version cupcake and butterscotch/cinnamon for breakfast muffins. We'll see how they go over. Thanks for sharing these recipes.

Anonymous

Heather

November 13, 2009 at 5:53 pm (5 years ago)

Thank you so much for this recipe. I went one step higher and used low carb soy beans (3 net carbs per 15 oz can) and the cake is absolutely amazing. I have really enjoyed your blog and your amazing talent. Thank you so much.

discomedusa

Anonymous

November 30, 2009 at 4:32 am (5 years ago)

Lauren, I just want to add my thanks for a great LC chocolate cake! I could not get the frosting right to save my life — I still don't know what I did wrong — but the cake was really good with whipped cream. I hope you'll be posting more recipes soon!

Anonymous

January 9, 2010 at 1:00 am (5 years ago)

I just made the cake and let it sit overnight… I just leveled the top for when I ice it later, and I ate those scraps. I couldn't BELIEVE how amazing this is. It's completely indistinguishable from a normal cake. If I bought this from a bakery I'd have NO idea it was low carb. I'm so impressed by this, can't wait to make and try the icing!

Thank you so much for this blog. I did low-carb for about four years starting roughly eight years ago, then quit because I had no easy way to cook for myself and I need constant variety. Finding this blog lead me to read Good Calories, Bad Calories — which is one of the best books I've ever read, thank you for listing it so prominently — and has also kept me going strong on low-carb. I make the fried rice recipe constantly. Not only that, my husband loves all the stuff I make from your blog! Thank you so much.

Lauren

January 19, 2010 at 2:17 am (5 years ago)

Rachel, thanks so much for the sweet comment! Glad you are enjoying the cake.

Vikki–can you eat Splenda? I'd add enough Splenda to the batter so that it is sweet enough for your liking. Be sure to add the bit of honey too–at least 1/4 cup to round out the sweetness. Chocolate and Splenda do not seem to play well together without the honey. Hope that helps, Vikki!

Anonymous

January 19, 2010 at 6:48 pm (5 years ago)

Hi Lauren!!

I just made your chocolate cake. I think I cooked it a bit too long but it bakes up soo nicely! Next time I will bake it for less time. I did use a bit more than the amount of erythritol your recipe calls for but the cake is not as sweet as I would like. I have noticed that in my tea it seems like I can never taste erythritol so now I use Torani sugar free syrup instead because I use soo much less. Anyway, as for the frosting, I can never seem to get the consistency right. Maybe because in my Kitchen Aide mixer I need to double the recipe to have it mix properly since the bowl is soo big?? I do not like raw eggs, so I added some Torani syrup just to give it some gloss. It seems to work well and I made the frosting sweeter than I like to compensated for the cake and YUMMY!! I think I need to work on the frosting consistency but it was delicious!! Thank you!!!

FairyGirl

January 19, 2010 at 6:55 pm (5 years ago)

Hi, It's me again..lol..I left the long comment above. Just want to add I think the cocoa I bought is really strong so maybe that is taking some of the sweet taste away. Maybe I will use less next time. And not use such heaping T to measure..LOL..My fault I am sure!! I want to try this with some instant coffee-a good European brand. That would give it a great depth of flavor. Thanks again!

dark

Anonymous

January 30, 2010 at 11:58 am (5 years ago)

Hey! Your chocolate cake looked so lovely I thought I'd have to at least give it a go despite the fact that everything I "bake", and I mean everything, turns out as fluffy as a brick and just about as dry. Alas, this one was no different. Could it be one of the following reasons? …For sweeteners I used only 1/3 cup of yacon syrup as I thought it would be sweet enough to cover for the erythritol? Perhaps it was just too heavy, it had a molasses-like consistency.ORMy mixture curdled beyond recognition at the egg stage. Nigel slater said that this shouldnt make any difference to the outcome of cakes but OH how it curdled!I hope you can help me because I'd really like to make a success of this recipe. I need it to get me through my anti-candida diet! Thanks. Victoria

Victoria

January 31, 2010 at 1:31 pm (5 years ago)

Hi again, I'm the Anon who wrote the above post about the brick. I just read one of your posts Lauren about why the cake might have fallen flat and …I didn't dust the pan with cocoa, I used oldish baking powder, AND I drained the water out of my tinned beans, which I don't think we are meant to, right?. So I shall attempt the recipe following your intructions like a good girl and let you all know how it turns out. WooHoo! Thanks Lauren

mayroarr

February 3, 2010 at 12:31 am (5 years ago)

Hi Lauren,First of all I just want to say kudos to you! Being a young gluten intolerant and low carb gal around the same age as you, I'm wrapped that i can stumble across your recipes to relieve my itch of some seriously guilt free temptations! -that will even tame my family and friends:)I tried this cake as my latest baking endeavour, and after devouring my fair share of it-its wonderous! I used a blend of powdered stevia and xylitol in both the cake and frosting, and i've never tasted better.So thanks for your awaited return to cyberworld, and I'll look forward to feasting my eyes on more recipes to come! *Greetings from Australia*

Anonymous

Jen Gosnell

February 15, 2010 at 9:40 am (5 years ago)

Thanks for this recipe, Lauren! I made the cake and the frosting, the cake with erythritol and the frosting with xylitol.

This was my first experience with erythritol and I have to say that it seemed a bit odd. My husband and I both felt there was an aftertaste to the cake (not to the frosting, though). Maybe this is the "cooling" effect that I've seen referred to with erythritol? So anyway, I'm thinking that I may not like erythritol for this sort of application.

However, I thought the texture and chocolate flavor of the cake was excellent! And I did like the frosting. So I think I am going to try the cake again with a different sweetener, and see how that goes. I have always loved to bake, so this is lots of fun. Thanks again!

miklamx

Brandon

March 11, 2010 at 4:42 pm (5 years ago)

Hey Lauren,

I'm soaking and sprouting my beans before I use them, which improves the digestibility of the cake and its nutrients (the final cake digests sooo easily). I shall blog this cake in a few days from now, being sure to redirect everyone to you!

Jennifer

April 10, 2010 at 3:40 pm (5 years ago)

Hi Lauren!I've been looking at this recipe for a couple weeks and finally made it yesterday.It is absolutely wonderful!!!I am on a yeast free diet and your blog is a godsend.Thanks for you creativity and innovation!

Kristin

April 23, 2010 at 4:03 am (5 years ago)

The texture of this cake is amazing. It is so wonderfully satisfyingly cakelike. I didn't even make the icing. I just sprinkled cocoa powder on top. I used liquid splenda and it turned out great. The best part is that there is no horrible post sugar rush. And so much protein.

Pezidesi

April 30, 2010 at 4:03 am (5 years ago)

I just made the white cupcakes for my daughters 2nd bday! I'm going to make the chocolate frosting tomorrow to top them with! We couldn't resist trying a few of the cupcakes fresh out of the oven……and frankly WE LOVE THEM ALREADY! Looking forward to tomorrow:) Thanks for your experimentation!

Pezidesi

May 1, 2010 at 1:03 am (5 years ago)

An update: We had the party today, EVERYONE loved the cupcakes and, of course, couldn't believe they were made from beans! My husband actually said it was the best cupcake he'd ever had:) The chocolate frosting turned out beautifully too!!!

hyesun

Lauren

May 4, 2010 at 6:22 pm (5 years ago)

Clark – Thank you!

Hyeson – Great question! I personally have not experienced distress from this. It is the one SA that does not upset my stomach. I do, however, eat reasonable portions of these desserts, and I always eat them with meals consisting of protein and other nonsweet food. Hope that helps!

Gluten Fibro Free

sassy

May 17, 2010 at 6:52 am (5 years ago)

I came across your site one day while searching for a low-carb sugar-free cake recipe for my type 2 diabetic husband's upcoming 35th birthday. He's been so down and whiny about the prospect of not having an actual cake for his birthday. Even though we're both rabid bean haters I decided to take the chance. So I ordered erythritol and stevia just for this recipe and so with trepidation I baked it up last night – for a trial run. It's fantastic! All I can say is that you're a genius. My husband couldn't believe the secret ingredient and I would never have guessed had I not made it myself. I didn't try the frosting, though it looks yummylicious. It was great even without it. Anyway, thank you! and my husband thanks you!

Becca

Anonymous

May 29, 2010 at 7:29 pm (5 years ago)

I made this cake & while very good, (after sitting overnight) Do NOT taste test fresh fr. the oven..it took me a long time & my kitchen was a disaster once I was through, I decided to make again but put it all in the blender except for the powdered ingr. which I added & stirred last then blended again. Saved a lot of prep work & cleanup & IMO tastes just as good! thanks Lauren for the recipe!

weaselcat

June 4, 2010 at 4:09 am (5 years ago)

Huge kudos! This cake is amazing and so tasty. I first tried it for my birthday in January, and everyone loved it (even the sugar-eatin' gluten-loving carnivores).

So because so many people liked it, we asked a bakery to follow the recipe for our wedding cake May 8th. We have enough vegan, sugar-sensitive, and/or gluten sensitive friends that it was a great idea. And it received rave reviews.

Thank you so much. We looked for a sugar-free friendly bakery for months before finding you.

I can't thank you enough! I love love love this cake. And so does my blood sugar.

Anonymous

limelicious

To the anonymous comment above me; the easiest way to figure out calories is to find the amount for your entire cake (ingredient by ingredient….) and divide that by the number of slices you cut.

It's really not difficult, just utilize Google or a calorie counter app/ website.

**I would just like to be another reviewer of this cake– I followed the recipe to a T, only I used sugar (it's just what I had on hand). Although I admit that I did make some indulgent frosting, I had great results. No one knew it was a healthier chocolate cake, and I received many compliments. The color is the best part- a very deep brown, almost black, that looks very fudgy.

So if you're on the fence, go ahead and make it =) You won't be dissappointed!

Brandon

June 19, 2010 at 5:41 pm (5 years ago)

There is NO egg replacement recommended for this recipe. At least, that's my experience. Nothing will work–this NEEDS eggs or else it will turn into mush. Something that I have had happened way too often. However, experimenting is half the fun!

Lynn

Sure looks delish! Like everyone else, I never would have guessed about the beans being used in such a way…but then again, I do recall aduki bean paste, etc. being used in sweets in Asia!

I would like to try your recipe today for a birthday cake for a friend's celebration tomorrow, so I'm hoping against hope that I will hear back from you in time!!! You can email me:eul8r2@gmail.com

She is diabetic, plus has a serious allergy to xylitol and any other of the '-itol' sugar substitutes, however she can use stevia. Is there an adaptation to your chocolate cake and frosting recipes that you would recommend, PLEASE?! I have never used any of these sugar substitutes before & really want this to be a successfully yummy & unexpected treat for her! She does so much for so many others… Thank you so much!

Rebecca

June 25, 2010 at 9:30 pm (5 years ago)

OMG! you are like my twin (not literally, just mentally)! i swear, i read your booklist, and those are some of my favorite books and issues! I have 3 guy friends i am going to cook this for tonight and we are going to have it at our barbecue tomorrow. I thought about not telling them what was in the cake and seeing their reaction without knowing, but i thought that might be a little much seeing as how one of them has had gastric bypass and is sensative to foods. I'm excited to make it. I love this idea, high good fats and good proteins, and low carb. Also a huge fan of coconut flour, i'm wantnig to get the book on amazon.com about cooking with coconut flour and i love IHerb too! I check their free section daily to try out new samples and whatknot. I'll let you knwo the results! You rock.

Marcipangris

July 23, 2010 at 9:50 am (5 years ago)

I just tried this cake and it really doesn't taste like beans! The texture was nice as well. I used kidney beans, let the baked cake sit overnight, and frosted it in the morning. I haven't been able to find stevia in Denmark, so I use something called "Perfect Sød" which can sub for the stevia in these recipes (1/2 tsp liquid stevia = 1.5 tsp Perfect Sød).My husband also liked it and he is a normal sugar cake guy.

Lisa

August 12, 2010 at 1:55 pm (5 years ago)

Loved this cake! Made it for a friend's 30th birthday. My kids all liked it, too!! My only question is why it was saltier than I would have imagined?? Maybe I should leave out that pinch of salt? Does it have something to do with the beans?

Anyway, thank you for posting this delicious recipe — packed with protein and nutrients. I'll definitely make it again

Lily

August 24, 2010 at 6:27 pm (5 years ago)

Hi, I run "Guilt-Free Comfort" a bakery and catering service that specializes in healthy versions of comfort foods. We have a similar cake at our bakery. I have since produced your recipe and can say it is pretty darn good. You should come and work for me! lol

Sophie(A) Marisa

Just made this cake into cupcakes. Followed the recipe with two substitutions:

1. Since 5 eggs seemed like a lot, I subbed one medium size very ripe plantain (for the first 3 eggs, and used the last two as indicated)

2. Subbed in 2tbsp creamed cocunut with 4tbsp butter in place of the 6tbsp of butter. They are a really nice chocolate flavor with a slightly tropical essence that lingers afterwards. And even healthier.

crumbsoflove

Kari

November 8, 2010 at 10:49 pm (4 years ago)

It would really help if you had a printer friendly version of this so you didn't have to copy/paste into a word document or something. Wasted 15 pages and all of my ink forgetting that the comments would print too.

That said, I really hope this cake tastes as good as it sounds when I do get around to making it.

Anonymous

Anonymous

November 22, 2010 at 9:40 pm (4 years ago)

I made this cake last night and it didn't taste like beans at all. But for some reason it was salty. I'm thinking that I did something wrong I used splenda and am pretty sure I got all the measurments right. Can someone help me??!?

Kelly Rock

January 21, 2011 at 8:23 pm (4 years ago)

Dear Lauren

Thank you so much for all your hard work and effort to bring delicious food that is sugar free and diabetic friendly. You are truly amazing!! My husband was diagnoised with Diabetes last year and there is NOTHING out there in deserts for him until you! Thanks so much and so far all your recepies have been wonderful and healthy too! Your the Best!!! Sincerely Kelly and John Rock

B. Wolf

Anonymous

February 6, 2011 at 4:24 am (4 years ago)

I just made this recipe! I couldn't find the sweeteners you called for, so I just used 1 cup of the Stevia that is made to measure the same as sugar. I also made cupcakes instead of a cake (they took 23-25 minutes to bake at 350). I haven't made the frosting yet, but I already tried a cupcake…I have to say, it was pretty dang good, however I do have a Stevia aftertaste in my mouth. I guess I'll have to try again with the other sweeteners and see if that helps. Overall, I am very excited to have a desert that is actually good for me! Thanks so much!

Anonymous

February 7, 2011 at 11:54 am (4 years ago)

This is insane.

The comments had me a bit worried, but this cake was phenomenal. Easy, cheap, and perfect. The frosting is ridiculously delicious.

It left me feeling so full and nourished and satisfied, unlike any dessert anyone's ever served me. Usually I will polish off anything sweet in front of me, no matter how full I am. I couldn't even finish my slice as it was so filling and rich (way out of character for me). How is this made of beans!

And as a type 1 diabetic it was kind of messing with my mind to think that I didn't have to worry about waking up the next morning with high blood sugar due to underestimating how many dozens of grams of carbs were in my awesome dessert 12 hours earlier.

Anonymous

February 8, 2011 at 4:57 am (4 years ago)

My mom has a chocolate cake recipe that is fudgy tasting. It's the only chocolate cake I like. My son's birthday is this month & I am trying to modify your cake to have a fudgy flavor, so I will be able to eat some & not worry too much about my blood sugar. I am new to the no grain world so I hope you can give me some advice. Your cake has 6tbs butter or coconut oil, 1tbs water, & 6tbs cocoa; basically 7tbs liquid + the liquid in the beans. Hers has 8tbs butter, ½c shortening, 1c water & 4tbs cocoa; basically 2c liquid, it also has ½c buttermilk. I'm not sure if the buttermilk is necessary to the flavor or not. Mostly I am using your ingredients, but changing the technique to cook the cocoa for the fudgy taste. Her recipe says to cook the butter, shortening, water & cocoa. I was thinking about cooking 3tbs butter, 2tbs coconut oil, 1tbs water, & the cocoa. I plan to beat 2 eggs with palm sugar until light & fluffy. I have some powdered stevia I will use in the bean mix. Do you think this would work & do you think I might be able to add just a bit more liquid so I could include at least 1/4c of buttermilk (maybe even ½c)?

Anonymous

Anonymous

February 9, 2011 at 4:43 am (4 years ago)

This was amazing! I used Agave in place of the honey for sweetener. I can't stand the taste of any of the artificial sweeteners and my husband is diabetic so Agave, being lower on the glycemic index, is preferable to honey. Absolutely DELICIOUS! Everyone loved it. I haven't yet told them its made with black beans… ;p

NW Mom

February 12, 2011 at 4:32 am (4 years ago)

Thank you so much for this recipe!! My son is having a birthday party this month and one of his good friends is gluten and dairy-free. I have been searching for a cake recipe that would actually come out like a cake instead of a fudge. This is perfect!

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Emmaline Cordelia

March 10, 2011 at 4:51 am (4 years ago)

First of all I just want to say thank you so much for doing what you do!! I just started the belly fat cure and you recipes really help with that sweet tooth of mine since I can only have 15 grams of sugar a day.Ok moving on to the fire breathing chocolate cake!! I made this cake and frosting to a T. The flavor was awesome and the texture was right on. My only question is why or how in the world would my cake be hot? The first bite was ok but as I took my second and then third my mouth was on fire. I have no idea where the heat would come from. I like spicy food but gosh it was just way too hot. Maybe I am allergic to something in it or there was some kind of chemical reaction?? Any feedback as to why this could happen? Thank you. By the way the Blueberry Cheesecake bars are totally awesome!!!

Amani

Sigal

March 27, 2011 at 7:03 pm (4 years ago)

Thank YOU. Thank YOU. Thank YOU.I have not baked for 15 years mostly because I didn’t want to have all the sugary stuff at home. To stay on the healthy side it is enough to have a dessert once in a while when we dine out. But it seems that my body doesn’t do well when I feed it with sugars (even the smallest amounts) I decided to start my hunting. Looking for something that will give me the same fun experience of a chocolate cake BUT with more benefits.And you recipe Annie, was on top of Google and now on top of my favorite home healthy delicious desserts.

The first time I made the cake (I was afraid that it’ll come out too sweet) so I decided to use ½ a cup of Xylitol (and I didn’t use stevia simply because I didn’t have any at home. The cake came out very light, not sweet enough and a bit dry.

The second time I baked it, I baked 2 cakes (I has 12 people for dinner) and I made a “mistake” in one of them. I put a whole pack of butter, instead of the 6 spoons your recipe calls for. I also flipped it too soon after I took it out of the oven, and it literally sank into itself. So I cat it, put it in a box and we ate it throughout the week like brownies. This one turned out to be, moist, rich and a bit heavier, which I liked very much. The other one I put ¾ of Xylitol and a bit stevia, and it was just great.

I am just so happy that I back to backing again. I was excited to go to bed, bath & beyond and get the baking dish, the beater, and a couple of other little things.Thanks Annie. Keep up the great work.

heykay

April 2, 2011 at 9:48 pm (4 years ago)

This is SUCH a good cake! My friend made it and I found it too sweet with stevia. My mother made it and used honey, but it was not sweet enough. I think I will try making it with regular sugar. =)My friend can't have wheat and she will love it, I'm going to surprise her with it tomorrow.

Anonymous

April 6, 2011 at 3:52 pm (4 years ago)

Made this the other day and it came out AWESOME! Served it to company and they had NO IDEA it was made with beans! They all wanted the recipe. DELISH! I planned on slicing the one 9" cake in half &n layering it like the recipe suggests, however, after baking just the 1, it looked too thin & much too difficult to slice in half evenly & frost nicely. Therefore, I just baked another 9" cake & placed it on top of the other one. Sure it added to the calories but man oh man was it GOOD!

Debbie

April 13, 2011 at 3:10 am (4 years ago)

Black soy beans the organic ones from Back to Eden or maybe just Eden are only 1 gm net carbs for 1 can. the lowest net carb beans as far as I know. you use honey in alot of recipes. i love it but isn't the carb count high? maybe a combo of it and other natural sugars would do he trick. anyway bought a whole case of the black soy beans and have only made hummus with it. Can't wait to try the cake. I'll report back.

Debbie

April 13, 2011 at 3:11 am (4 years ago)

Black soy beans the organic ones from Back to Eden or maybe just Eden are only 1 gm net carbs for 1 can. the lowest net carb beans as far as I know. you use honey in alot of recipes. i love it but isn't the carb count high? maybe a combo of it and other natural sugars would do he trick. anyway bought a whole case of the black soy beans and have only made hummus with it. Can't wait to try the cake. I'll report back.

Anonymous

April 13, 2011 at 3:23 am (4 years ago)

I made this cake for my daughter. She is allergic to cane sugar and corn so many flours are out of the question. What a great alternative! Thanks so much, she sure liked it and we all had to have some. The flavor seemed almost like a bittersweet chocolate. I look forward to making more of your recipes.

Tanya

Syd10

April 28, 2011 at 2:40 am (4 years ago)

I used butter and honey.only baked for 30 minutes.Turned out AMAZINGly. Big hit. Didn't ice but put some dark choc chips in instead to make more of a brownies. Makes so much it's great. Will definitely be revisiting and adapting to get different variations I like. NO ONE can tell it's black bean

Ashleigh Dean

May 5, 2011 at 4:17 am (4 years ago)

Hello! I just wanted to let you know that I am putting this recipe in a paper I am writing right now (and, of course, crediting you and your site!!). I graduate from college on Saturday, and for the past year I have wanted to put a cake recipe in the middle of one of my papers. I am working on my FINAL paper and so I am going to do it! It *kinda* ties in, and I am making it work. The paper is about how too much TV is bad for kids, and all of the effects. I am giving healthy alternatives to watching TV, one of which is baking (educational, fun, etc) and I am putting this recipe in there! Ha. It is a stretch, but I don't care Just wanted to let you know!

Anonymous

May 7, 2011 at 2:27 pm (4 years ago)

Would love to know ACTUAL carbs and not net carbs if you have those figured out. My guess is that the whole cake is about 200 carbs which is a nice option. I made it last night and it is really moist and delicious!

Lisa, in NZ

May 8, 2011 at 7:55 am (4 years ago)

I made this for my son's birthday, because we try not to have sugar of wheat. It was delicious! Did not use the erythritol and used kidney beans. It was so delicious and I kept staring at my piece thinking, gosh this is amazing! Looks like cake, tastes like cake and made from beans!Crazy. So good. Thanks for all your help with healthy baking.

Beth

May 11, 2011 at 7:23 pm (4 years ago)

Hey, I made your cake last week and it was to die for! I have been reading recently about the benefits of coconut and decided to add a bit to the recipe…it actually turned out pretty well! Try it sometime!

Anonymous

May 15, 2011 at 11:22 pm (4 years ago)

Just made it, delicious. The baking time for me was way shorter than in the recipe though, it burned, i peeled the burned stuff off and frosted it and no one knew the difference!I will definitely make this again form my friends with sensitivities.

Rober

Brie

May 24, 2011 at 5:55 pm (4 years ago)

My old roommie recommended this and I just made it but as cupcakes. Tried one and it's good fresh out the oven and I'm sure it'll be even better later on when I ice them. Nice and fluffy, not dense and fudgy like other flourless cakes I've tried. I look forward to trying out your other recipes.

Anonymous

Shaina

June 28, 2011 at 5:03 pm (4 years ago)

I came across your blog while looking for healthy cake alternatives for my son's 1st birthday! We want to let him do the fun "cake demolishing" thing…but I don't feel right giving him a cake that is full of sugar. That said…I am SO excited to try this! Any recommendations for making this into cupcakes? Just adjust cooking time? Thanks for your blog…glad I stumbled upon it!

Anonymous

June 29, 2011 at 3:18 am (4 years ago)

I made this cake for my family tonight and everyone loved it, including me! My 5 year old actually ate 2 slices. It is so moist and so delicious. It tastes just like German Chocolate cake. I think it would be great with coconut frosting! Thanks so much for the recipe! I loved it and will continue to fix this for my family.

Genji

July 5, 2011 at 9:01 pm (4 years ago)

Your site is great! I have gestational diabetes and my birthday is coming up, so was looking for a low carb birthday cake to make myself. I have a question, though.. my husband is allergic to eggs… do you know if this will work with egg substitutes, or would it up increasing the carbs? 5 eggs is a lot to substitute. Do you know anything else to use? Or, do you know of any recipes for cake that would be eggless and low carb and nut free (as my son is allergic to nuts). Or, maybe I should just make 3 different cakes…

Shaina

July 8, 2011 at 3:44 pm (4 years ago)

Thanks, Lauren! I gave it a shot and 25 minutes is perfect for cupcakes! This recipe yields about 15. They were SO good! I had several in my family ask for the recipe. I thought it was better than "regular" cake because it was more "chocolatey" sweet than "sugary" sweet.

lazynui

Brettani Shannon

July 15, 2011 at 6:15 am (4 years ago)

I am hoping this is the cake for my baby's first bday party, so I am looking for any tips on cooking with agave and/or Truvia. I haven't found any concrete conversions to use with baking and so far, have ruined many desserts trying to figure it out.

BTW, thank you so much for posting this recipe. I will take photo and tell you all how mine turns out!

Anonymous

July 15, 2011 at 3:46 pm (4 years ago)

Hi,

I am going to make this for my 2 year old daughter's birthday party.I don't bake at all and would like to know how to make this into a sheet cake,a small one, enough for 20 people. I want it to have two layers like the cake in the picture but rectangle instead of round. Thanks!

Dabin

July 18, 2011 at 10:01 pm (4 years ago)

hello! thanks for this recipe. i'm definitely going to try this. but one thing- i don't have pure stevia extract. i just have the powdered "sugar" form in the bag. can i use that, and if so, how much should i use? a cup and a half? i also have maple syrup and honey (which i would rather use); how much of each or combined should i use? thanks so much!

Lauren

July 24, 2011 at 3:58 am (4 years ago)

Hi Genji, I hope you found an egg substitute. I have not personally tried them as I do eat eggs, and have so few ingredients to work with for these recipes. Best of luck with finding eggless low carbohydrate cakes that do not contain nuts. I do feel for your son!

Lauren

July 24, 2011 at 4:03 am (4 years ago)

Hi Anon, I don't have experience baking this cake into different shapes. Baking it in a rectangular pan would mean that you would need a lower oven temperature and longer baking time, but I do not have exact numbers for you. Having a limited budget for baking ingredients, I've only tried this cake one way (in the rounded pans). It would be very helpful if you'd share your experience making it with us.

Truvia could work, but it does have a bitter aftertaste when used in large amounts. I would add 1/2 cup and taste the batter to see if it is sweet enough.

I do not use agave nectar due to the negative health effects (mainly, elevated triglycerides, which are the bad blood fats) from the high fructose content. I believe it performs quite similarly to honey, which some readers have used in this recipe in the listed quantity. Hope that helps!

Anonymous

WinterRose

This cake was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. With all the positive comments and your mouth-watering picture, I knew for sure that it would be good. And yet, I couldn't wrap my head around it… a tasty bean cake?!

I let the cake sit out last night, then made the frosting and frosted it today… and of course ate a slice (or rather, 2 1/2 slices…) and shared it with my parents, and saved a slice for my best friend, as well!

Ana Luiza

August 6, 2011 at 4:10 am (4 years ago)

I made this cake and it is absolutely AMAZING! Thank you so much for this post. I have been gluten free for about 2.5 years now and would rather not use the processed alternatives to regular flour. This really hit the spot!

Tiph

August 13, 2011 at 9:46 pm (4 years ago)

My daughter's 4th birthday is tomorrow, and she requested chocolate cake. Being gluten free as well as the fact that we do not eat refined sugar or artificial sweeteners… I was on the hunt for a tasty, healthy recipe.. and I am so excited to have found this! I cannot wait to try it out! It sounds like it's going to be perfect! Thank you sooo much!

Sandra Scheiwe

August 16, 2011 at 6:18 pm (4 years ago)

Wow I am excited to try this since I can't have flour. Never heard of black beans as a alternative! Also love the coconut oil alternative, I use it a lot to prepare popcorn and hash browns. Thanks for the recipe!

Anonymous

Hi I've never made a cake or baked at all until this one. I'm on a low carb diet so it seemed perfect.

And it is! Extremely delicious. Haven't tried the frosting yet, this was just a dry run.

However I have a couple dumb questions from a brand new baker. How do I get the cocoa powder sprinkled in the pan evenly? And how do I get the cake out of the pan without it breaking? It's so soft it just broke right in half. Still really good though.

Lauren

Teresa

August 29, 2011 at 1:59 pm (4 years ago)

Loved it, Loved it, Loved it! I have to avoid gluten and dairy, so I used half coconut oil and half earth balance spread. Finally, a really good gluten free cake that tastes as good the next day as it did the first. I do have a question. I'd like to make a yellow cake version and was wondering what to substitue for the cocoa powder (for texture). I didn't want to just leave it out, I figured it would be too liquidy. What about coconut flour? Upon compairing the nutritional values of both, they are extremely similar, so I thought it might make the best substitute. I'll try it and let you know what I end up with. Again, the chocolate cake is to die for. MMMMM

Cake Molds Now

Michele

September 3, 2011 at 5:40 am (4 years ago)

This was great! I used all Truvia for sweetener and sub. a can of Eden Organic Black Soybeans for the black beans for the lowest net-carb effect. I took it to a family cookout, where it was equally enjoyed by low-carbers, diabetics, people on "normal" diets and small children! I took home an empty cake pan. Thanks for the recipe!

Anonymous

September 13, 2011 at 3:25 pm (4 years ago)

I can't even explain how good this cake is. Let me first start off by telling you.. that I cannot cook at all and am a novice baker at best. I made the buttercream frosting, and used coconut oil instead of butter for the cake.. Which I highly recommend.. it adds a nice background of sweet coconut flavor to the cake, I also let it sit over night like you suggested. So good! Next time I am going to try black soy beans and add some chocolate whey powder.THANK YOU FOREVER.

Beth Laurie

September 14, 2011 at 4:36 pm (4 years ago)

In response to Lis, who used dutch process cocoa and left out the soda, it's not that it reacts badly to baking soda, it doesn't react at all. So whether you left it out or didn't I don't think you would achieve the lift necessary. Maybe the solution would be to add more baking powder. I don't know. I would recommend just using natural cocoa in this recipe. I used dutch process cocoa with the soda (this was before I knew about the non-reaction) and I didn't get the proper leavening either. After reading about the difference between dutch-process and regular, I made it again using the natural unsweetened cocoa and didn't have any trouble.

em3r4ld

September 16, 2011 at 7:38 am (4 years ago)

Hi Lauren,

I love your blog!

I just made the chocolate cake, and for some reason it turned out to be VERY bitter…I followed the recipe completely – using erythritol and stevia. Is it maybe because I am so used to sugar-sweetened cake, or perhaps my stevia/erythritol wasn't good quality?

Anonymous

September 16, 2011 at 8:10 pm (4 years ago)

This recipe tastes amazing, however, every time I make it, my cake, or cupcakes collapse in the middle shortly after taking them out of the oven. I make sure they are completely done. The toothpick comes out clean and they spring back when I touch them in the middle. Do you know why this is?

Arouna

September 19, 2011 at 5:41 pm (4 years ago)

Lauren, I made this recipe over the weekend for a friend's birthday. She said this was the best chocolate cake she has ever had! It was a big hit and no one ever suspected anything, but flour. They wanted me to share the recipe because this was the moistest cake they have ever had! I will be trying the yellow cake version soon! Thanks for making this available to us!

Derfmommy

September 29, 2011 at 5:19 am (4 years ago)

This sounds great! I plan on making this for guests this weekend who require a diabetic diet. I do have a question though, can xylitol instead of the stevia and other sweetener? and how would I substitute it in this recipe?

Tabitha Teeter

October 2, 2011 at 4:07 pm (3 years ago)

Yum! Definitely rock star status though I had to tweak for some picky nephews.I added an egg and 4 TB coconut flour to hide any bean texture from my bean-hating nephews. They had no clue that it was grain free or had "despised" beans AND wanted seconds. They didn't like bean fudge/brownies so I'm thrilled to have a work around that didn't ruin the taste. Thank you.

Korinas

October 2, 2011 at 7:01 pm (3 years ago)

THANK YOU FOR THIS RECIPE! This is the best chocolate cake ever! It's not just good for healthy cake, it beats any sugar laden cake I've ever had!!! It's a very rich dark chocolate, yum. I served this a party and everyone loved it with the exception of a little kid, I think he was used to sweeter cake. I guess if I was making it for children I could make it a bit sweeter. I would love to try a black bean brownie that's sugar free as well, but haven't been able to find a recipe.

Anonymous

October 7, 2011 at 10:46 am (3 years ago)

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I made this cake last night and served it today for my family. They loved it and can't believe it's made from beans! It was delicious. I'm going to make the vanilla one for my dad's birthday. Thanks for the great recipe.

Jenni

October 10, 2011 at 1:36 pm (3 years ago)

Hey! I made this cake a few months ago while living in Norway… Honestly best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. My boyfriend and best friend testified to this as well! However… Now I am in france and want to make it again! The only problem is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to find black beans! But I saw your yellow cupcake recipe that uses white beans and there were some commenters who said they added cocoa to make them chocolate cupcakes. I'm wondering if the opposite would work.. could I substitute white beans in this recipe? Thanks! Also, I am canadian and today is canadian thanksgiving! Your Gooey pumpkin butter cake is cooling in my fridge, I am soooo excited!!!

Anonymous

October 11, 2011 at 10:14 pm (3 years ago)

Sorry but I'm not falling for it this time. I tried Rocco DiSpirito's black bean brownies he did on Good Morning America and they were terrible. Black beans aren't low carb anyway, so I won't be trying this.

Jen

October 27, 2011 at 3:07 am (3 years ago)

This cake is fabulous! But as always. .. I started making it before I realized I had run out of butter for the frosting. I substituted cream cheese for the butter and it was fabulous. .. especially since cream cheese frosting is my favorite! I also put the erythyrol in my coffee grinder. . . and purposely did not clean it out first. . . making it a mocha frosting! We are having a get together next weekend. My parents, sisters and I are all on Phase 4 of the HCG diet so they will all love this!! Thanks!

Bruna Pinheiro

October 31, 2011 at 2:01 pm (3 years ago)

I've dying to make this cake, it looks DELISH! I babysit for two kids who love chocolate to death but they aren't allowed to have sugar that often and I'm hoping they'll like this cake. I can't find erythritol but we have Trader Joe's stevia in the house. Do you think 3/4 cup splenda + 1/2 teaspoon pure stevia extract would work?

Also, can I use I Can't Believe It Isn't Butter instead?

This will be my first time trying sugar substitutes and I wanna do things right.

Anonymous

November 2, 2011 at 4:08 pm (3 years ago)

Hi, I live in Nigeria and don't have all the exotic ingredients…xylitol, erythritol or stevia. Can I just replace all that with honey? And how much honey should I use? Thanks!Also what do I use to replace the half and half and the erythritol for the frosting? Thanks much!Ibukun

Madison_mom

November 7, 2011 at 2:03 am (3 years ago)

Hi Lauren,

I just wanted to thank you for this recipe. My son has the dreaded peanut/tree nut allergy. It's SO helpful to have a recipe for low-carb baking that doesn't call for ground nuts. I'm making this as his birthday cake right now (24 hours in advance, as instructed!). He loves chocolate, but can so rarely eat it.Namaste

Anonymous

November 8, 2011 at 10:54 pm (3 years ago)

I made this cake yesterday out of curiosity (plus it looked so delicious!). It turned out absolutely amazing! I bought the icing to add extra sweetness. I think it is hands down the best chocolate cake I've ever made. This recipe will definitely be saved in my favourite recipes!

Anonymous

November 23, 2011 at 2:24 am (3 years ago)

Being a guy and first time cake baker some of the terminology used was confusing, but surprisingly the cake came out awesome. The instructions were easy to follow! The end result was a great tasting birthday cake for the girlfriend.

RB

Selden

December 19, 2011 at 10:52 am (3 years ago)

Lauren, I am new to diabetic baking and want to make this cake for my friend who is diabetic. I bought erythritol from Netrition that is already powdered. (Sensato brand.) Can you tell us what the measurements should be if you're using powdered erythritol? Thanks.

Anonymous

December 21, 2011 at 11:35 pm (3 years ago)

I am serious about my cake… and I was a skeptic…I have never attempted to make anything like this before, but I have a friend who cannot have gluten/sugar, so I had to come up with something so she could partake in Christmas gluttony! When I opened the can of beans, I thought, "Oh this isn't going to end well…" but I kept on trucking. After an oven snafu (let my cake sit in there for 40 minutes without it on) I watched my beautiful, perfect cake start to rise!! I let it sit overnight with a bowl over it and after supper, I cut a piece (it was like cutting butter!) It was so perfect it looked fake! The first mouthful was heaven! Not only did it taste like delicious chocolate cake, the texture was perfect! I brought it into work with me and loved watching my coworker's faces when I told them it was made of beans!! They all agreed it was delicious! This is now my go-to cake recipe! Lauren, you are a genius!

Lauren

December 23, 2011 at 5:57 pm (3 years ago)

Ashleigh – I hope the paper (and the cake) turned out well for you!

Anon – I subtract fiber from all my recipes and half the carbs from xylitol. I count 0 carbs from erythritol. I hope that helps you to make your own calculations. Try caloriecount.about.com. If I had an automatic software the process would me much faster, but for now I have to manually plug in ingredients!

Brettani – Did you figure out the Truvia measurements? I try to taste the batter as I go to figure out how new sweeteners will perform. Usually it works out!

Anon – The amount of frosting the recipe makes is a little over a cup.

Beth – Thanks so much for sharing that tip about using natural cocoa instead of Dutch process!

em3r4ld – Try using NuNaturals brand stevia. It is the best brand I have tried so your cake should not turn out bitter with it!

Bethany – It could be collapsing if it is not done well enough. Leave it in for longer, or try a 25 degrees lower baking temperature. Some ovens are not calibrating and so my listed baking time would not work for you.

Derfmommy – You would use 3/4 the amount of xylitol as the amount of erythritol listed. That usually works well for me!

Korinas – Black bean brownies are in the works!

Jeannette – Very glad the cake worked out for you.

Jenni – I do think the white beans would work here.

Jen – A mocha frosting sounds wonderful!

Bruna – I wouldn't use the butter substitute, but the Splenda and stevia combo would likely work out. I am still not sure though because chocolate usually requires a sweetener like erythritol or xylitol to taste not bitter. Let us know how it worked out for you.

Anon – Try 1/2 cup honey and taste the batter to see if it is sufficiently sweet. Experiment with it a bit – it should not affect how tasty the cake it. It will either be not quite sweet enough or too sweet, but texture should be just fine. Let us know how the honey measurements work out!

Yoli – Did the cake turn out for you? The batter is a bit thin.

Selden – Use a little over double the amount of granular erythritol if your erythritol is already powdered. I wouldn't recommend using all erythritol because of the cooling effect.

Anonymous

December 30, 2011 at 3:16 pm (3 years ago)

I just tried my chocolate cupcake after making them yesterday. It was a bit dry, but I could have left them in the oven too long. Next time I will take them out sooner. Also, I used coconut oil instead of butter. The coconut overpowered the chocolate. Otherwise, very good!

Anonymous

Elyse

January 11, 2012 at 7:59 pm (3 years ago)

For the first time in her 10 years my little girl can have a birthday cake that actually tastes like…CAKE! She has a genetic condition and can't digest carbohydrates. Thank you so much for this recipe!

Haleigh

January 30, 2012 at 12:18 am (3 years ago)

This is the best Chocolate cake, and I don't mean just for being healthy! Everyone I have had try this cake has LOVED it! I even had someone tell me a couple weeks ago that I should go into business making cake( and they didn't even know it was a bean cake) My husband who does NOT like anything healthy, LOVES this cake! I love how you can eat a cake and not feel guilty, but it's actually very good for you. I will even let my son eat this cake for breakfast, it's like eating eggs and beans for breakfast. Thank you Lauren for this AWESOME recipe!

mommas4

January 30, 2012 at 10:51 pm (3 years ago)

We've made this cake thrice now & altered the frosting a bit each time; once with a Peanut Butter cream cheese frosting, once with a garam masala coconut whipped cream frosting, and once with the original. No matter what we put on it, this is the most amazing and life-changing chocolate cake ever. Beans? Who knew!??! Thank you

This looks great and I plan on trying it, but I can't help but notice the following contradiction. In the into paragraph, you say “Chocolate cake made without flour, sugar, or dairy. Low carb and gluten-free, of course.” But the recipe calls for five eggs! Isn't that considered dairy?

I came back to the computer to check the recipe, and I didn't make any mistakes. There won't be any 'scraping” of the batter from the bowl, because is is like a crepe batter. I'm kind of leary about putting it in the oven as it is, because it is so soupy and not like cake batter. Mary

Anonymous

This cake is amazing! I am a complete bean hater and I could have finished this cake all by myself. I didn't try the icing yet as I was missing the sweetener ingredients (I only have honey).

For the cake recipe I used regular vegetable oil. I was nervous the cake wouldn't turn out as the batter was really runny. But it turned out perfectly. So moist and tasty. I also used a fluted pan and baked for the time listed in the recipe.

Anonymous

This cake is amazing! I am a complete bean hater and I could have finished this cake all by myself. I didn't try the icing yet as I was missing the sweetener ingredients (I only have honey).

For the cake recipe I used regular vegetable oil. I was nervous the cake wouldn't turn out as the batter was really runny. But it turned out perfectly. So moist and tasty. I also used a fluted pan and baked for the time listed in the recipe.

I made this last night and it was tasty! I used honey and am thinking that is why mine wasn't as fluffy as yours My fiance said “as a regular cake it's 'ok'…as a diet cake its great!” I LOVE to bake. It totally relaxes me so I'm so happy to have found your site on how to make goodies that are better for my family! Also, just in case some of you don't know Xylitol is EXTREMELY dangerous for dogs (way worse than chocolate1) and since dogs sometimes get into things…be careful where you store it or leave treats with that ingredient in it!

Anonymous

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I was just diagnosed with gluten and dairy intolerance, so I made this cake for my husband's birthday. It turned out PERFECT (thanks to your excellent instructions), and it looks BEAUTIFUL! No one would EVER be able to tell this was not TOTALLY BAD FOR YOU! I love you! Mmmmwah!

Oh, and I forgot to mention…I did make one change. I didn't have erythritol or xylitol, so I used Rapadura (unrefined cane sugar) and powdered it in my coffee grinder. It worked perfectly! I also added a few drops of vanilla liquid stevia.

Anonymous

March 17, 2012 at 2:43 pm (3 years ago)

this cake is the best cake I have ever had! I could not believe it when I tried it. I used 1/2 cup honey along with 1tsp stevia extract and it turned out awesome! You are such a genius for thinking of this recipe. I don't think I'll ever make a beanless cake again. I am loving it!

Anonymous

April 4, 2012 at 1:01 am (3 years ago)

This cake was very good. But beware that xylitol is a sugar alcohol and is toxic to dogs. This cake cost me $650 at the vets after my 100lb yellow lab helped himself to just 1/4 of the cake as it cooled. Becareful of your pets around this cake. Anyway it was really good and I am making it again tonight but with honey instead. I hope it is as good.

Summer

April 22, 2012 at 2:36 am (3 years ago)

I tried this cake and loved it! I was wondering about finding a healthier substitute for the butter however…do you think avocado would make a suitable substitute or would the fat content change too much for the cake to turn out?

Kaley

April 29, 2012 at 2:28 am (3 years ago)

Shut-up!!! I honestly can't believe this cake is even real. Am I dreaming? Sooooo good!! I have been low carb for just a little while and have struggled with desserts, having many fails and only a few successes. When I tasted the batter I was blown away but still sceptical because for me texture is 80% of it. If the texture is bad I can't eat it. I've made desserts where the batter was awesome and I was sure it would come out amazing, only to find that once baked the texture was awful and somehow the flavor less intense. Not so with this cake!! It was way better than I expected and just like any real full flour full sugar cake I've had!! I'm SO happy about this! I used erytheritol and truvia (was short on Eryth) and some liquid sweet leaf stevia- kinda just adjusted it to my taste. I can't say enough about this cake!!!! You are truly amazing and thank you so much! One more thing, my cake also kind of fell after I took it out of the oven. It didn't fall much but it fell enough to where I would make another cake if I were gonna do a 2 layer cake as I don't think it's thick enough to cut. The top also became pretty crisp. None of that bothered me at all though as the cake is still magnificent!! I honestly had a smile on my face the whole time like I had just fallen in love for the first time (haha!)… Yeah it's that good y'all!!

Summer, I use saturated fat in all my recipes since I believe it is healthiest fat for baking low carb treats. I think avocado might add an undesirable flavor and texture. If you do try it, let me know how it goes!

This cake came out perfectly delicious! Rich, chocolatey, decadent, dense.. I even erred and used salted beans, and though it was salty, the goodness still came through. I've already purchased a bag of black beans in preparation for the next time this cake calls my name!

This cake was absolutely delicious! I couldn't stop eating it! Just switched my son (who has aspergers) to a GFCF diet, and was so excited to find a GOOD GFCF cake! Thanks for the fantastic recipe & great instructions. Even my gluten eating husband loved it.

Hi Lauren — I'm so glad I found you! I have made a lot of duds in pursuit of the healthy cake. I made this cake today, and found success! I substituted agave nectar for the honey. I didn't use your frosting recipe yet, but I will. Do you think that xylitol crystallizes like the erythitol does? Today I attempted to make powdered sugar from turbinado sugar, and it was an abject failure. Also, you recommend “good tasting stevia” — can you recommend a brand?

Anonymous

June 21, 2012 at 10:20 pm (3 years ago)

I just wanted to let you know that I absolutely LOVE this recipe!!! I make it for my kids birthday cakes, its perfect cause they are really young but its not bad for them at all!!! No one believes me when I say its made with black beans… Thank You, Thank You!!!

monika

June 26, 2012 at 3:55 pm (3 years ago)

I'm so glad I came across your site!! I absolutely love your way of baking!! I made the chocolate cake yesterday and it was amazing!!! I reduced the butter by half and replaced the other half with Chia Seed Powder. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!!

Kellis Coates

June 27, 2012 at 9:36 am (3 years ago)

Love the secret! I have just finished reading the book “Chocolate, Healthfood of the Gods” by Phillip Minton, M.D. about health benefits of chocolate. I'm so inspired. It seems like one of the biggest mistakes of my life was not to eat more chocolate. I happen to like darker varieties. And yet so many years of guilt and restriction. Now I am looking for new healthy and delicious recipes of chocolate desserts. I am definitely going to try this one.

Anonymous

June 27, 2012 at 12:00 pm (3 years ago)

Dear Lauren,

I'm really glad I found your blog. My mom is on a no carb- no flour diet, so she's having extreme difficulties with overcoming her craving for sweets.I'm definitely gonna try your “bean” chocolate cake for her upcoming birthday!

I'm hoping my last post went through, but I'm not showing it up yet. Just in case, just wanted to say I can't wait to try this, thinking of making it for the 4th of July. I just started the whole low-carb eating recently and my biggest problem is sweets. I think this will help settle those cravings..

Basically what I was thinking was replacing the flour with the black beans and the sugar with Truvia or Stevia (or both)? I'd like to know what you'd think since you're more of a food expert than myself. Thanks!

Neerual

July 2, 2012 at 2:27 pm (3 years ago)

I can' thank you enough for this recipe. Being a low-carber trying to lose weight, cakes seemed simply our of reach. Even my husband liked it (didn´t tell him it was beans at first, hahaha). I added a TBS of expresso powder and used 1 1/4 Splenda since I couldn't find Erythritol. There is definetly the usual aftertaste, does Erythritol tastes different? I would like to order some. Thank you, thank you.

I am so happy that I stumbled upon your site! My daughter (about to turn 8) asked me to make her chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing. I decided to use the opportunity to make them as healthy as possible; thankfully she loves healthy food and was super excited for it! I baked the cupcakes tonight and am letting them cool overnight. I'm so excited to see how they turned out tomorrow!!

Anonymous

July 5, 2012 at 12:39 am (3 years ago)

OMG! Soooo good! 5 stars and a Rock Star to boot! I have been moderately low carb for 9 months, and getting used to “missing out” on the good stuff. I made the cake for traveling, so no frosting, and it was still amazing. Moist, chocolatey, no unpleasant after-taste. Absolutely fantastic. Even my super unhealthy-eating BF approved, and he won't go near my food for love or money normally. It was fabulous. My new favorite treat. Thank you!!!

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I just had another piece of this fantastic cake; it is REALLY good. Its very moist and compact. I used the Domino light “stevia-sugar mix” and a tablespoon of coffee instead of water. I was a little confuse as the recipe said to add the cocoa at the beginning then later in the recipe to add it as the last ingredient, I just put it at the beginning of the process. I know that this will be even better using swerve as somehow I can feel the stevia aftertaste, nevertheless it is so good that I've already eaten half of it. I didnt make the frosting, and the cake is good as it is.

Anonymous

August 14, 2012 at 1:00 pm (3 years ago)

I made this for my dh's birthday and it was a HUGE success. First, my dh doesn't like when I make “weird things” and hates black bean brownies, so this was a risk. It paid off, I assume the crazy amount of eggs is what let's it be cake-like while the brownies I have made with beans are never really like brownies. I used coconut oil, honey (3/4 c + 1.5 tsp liquid stevia), double the recipe and 1.5 times the frosting which was made with xylitol. Baked at 325 for about 45 mins, it was definitely done. A couple things though- I can't see how it would be possible for that picture to be a layer split- mine rose beautifully (I used brand new baking soda and powder to make sure) and it wouldn't have been like that split unless I used maybe 6 in pans… that is misleading. Also the frosting without being at least 1.5 times wouldn't be enough to frost 2layers, I made 1.5 times the recipe given and it wasn't as thick as yours at all between the layers. I am an experienced baker and knew to make extra.

My DH made this cake for my birthday last month, and it was fabulous. To make it into a two layer cake either cut the cake in half straight across the middle to make two half-moons you can stack atop each other to make a half of a cake, or just double the recipe to make two cakes. Too hard to split into two layers. Am about to make a batch completely in the blender this afternoon for cupcakes. Can't wait for the ebook tonight, Lauren. You rock!

This is wonderful! Being sugar free, and trying to avoid grains, this cake is a lifesaver. I got it from a cousin, and I didn’t know where she got it, but then someone commented on my blog (where I’d posted the recipe) and told me about your site! Oh boy! I’m very impressed. A friend of mine will love the vanilla variation, since he can’t have cocoa.

Thank you ever so much for this fantastic recipe! Everybody over here is blessing you–especially my gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, egg-free mother.

Kristin

August 22, 2012 at 5:49 pm (3 years ago)

Hi!
This looks awesome! Wanting to. Ake a healthy cake for my son’s birthday party. Do you think I could make this into cupcakes? Also, can i use just honey for a sweetener in both the cake and the icing?
Tha is for you fantastic blog!

Kim

August 23, 2012 at 8:45 pm (3 years ago)

Hey, I actually just made this recipe into cupcakes today… worked great! Make it just as the recipe says, keep the oven preheat the same temperature, but cut the cooking time down to around 30 minutes. Fill the cupcake cups around 3/4s of the way full, or even slightly more; this doesn’t rise quite as much as some cupcake batters.

As for the honey substitute, I can’t answer you there; I used the erythritol and stevia (Amazon.com had some good prices on them) and it turned out great.

karla

August 24, 2012 at 9:15 pm (3 years ago)

Holy cow! I had just finally given up on non gluten baking as i could never get the recipes to work – usually too dry. This cake was marvelous!! I am so encouraged that i am baking a spice cake now based on your vanilla bean cake. Thank you SO much for sharing! Baked goods are firmly back in my diet for good!!!!

katie

August 28, 2012 at 5:48 am (3 years ago)

OMG!! thank you!!! ive been looking everywhere for this recipe! i had made it a few months ago for my husbands birthday ( sugar sensitive) he as well as my 2 yr old son and i loved it we shared some leftovers with friends who also were in heaven eating it…i honestly thought i got the recipe on all recipes and searched high and low to no avail (ps you should put it there!) i was so bummed…. finding it has made my day!…now for some cake makin… thank you so much this recipe is incredible!

katie

Monika

September 2, 2012 at 5:40 pm (3 years ago)

I just made this cake and I must say it’s delicious! I can’t taste the beans at all. It’s moist and it melts in my mouth. I used canned black beans and only 4 eggs (I didn’t have 5). For frosting, I used Mascarpone instead of butter. I find Mascarpone much better and smoother for frostings than butter or cream cheese.

Auri'sMommy

September 6, 2012 at 1:34 pm (3 years ago)

Lauren– You are a cooking goddess. OK, not to sound too obsessed, but this cake is phenominal! I made the mint version last night, and I swear it is heaven! I have a 6 year old daughter who is so picky she literally won’t try ANYTHING, but ate this cake up and asked for seconds!! My 3 year old niece and nephew chowed theirs, too. I am so grateful. I will read through your recipes and see if there are any more sneaky healthy dishes I think I can slip past my daughter. =) THANK YOU!!!

Ayisha

September 8, 2012 at 2:05 pm (3 years ago)

Hi there I made this cake and the texture came out perfect but I had one problem: the cake was bitter. Like really bitter. At first I thought it was Becoz of too much choco powder but no it was too bitter. I used stevia, it said sweet stevia and I don’t know if it was the stevia or what. But can’t we just the stevia and use honey or some other regular sweetner? Why use stevia? I really hope you can help me coz there are soooo many of ur recipes I want to try. Thanks!

Hi, Ayisha! Did you use the recommended amounts of sweeteners? You need to combine stevia with another sweetener to avoid a bitter taste. A combination of stevia and honey would sweeten the cake properly. The listed amounts of stevia and erythritol I provide give you delicious, sugar-free results so you might want to get your hands on those sweeteners!

Hi, Fiona! Thanks for sharing your experience with this. I’m not sure what the issue is with the rising of the cake that a few people have had. My guess is that is has to do with the temperature of the ingredients or the oven. It could also have to do with how fresh your leavening agents are. I’m glad you enjoyed the taste of the cake at any rate.

Laura

October 15, 2012 at 9:16 pm (2 years ago)

I made it this afternoon (with agave) and it was amazing. My six year old had two pieces!! We didn’t even put frosting on it! Does anyone care to take a guess or know how many calories would be in 1/10 of the cake?

Lisa

October 25, 2012 at 5:08 am (2 years ago)

Oh my. This was so good. I love that it is low carb too. My family and I have been eating a more nutritious diet, and with my son’s birthday coming up, I was looking for a cake I could make without going back to refined white garbage. This “took the cake”! It is awesomely delicious and moist. The real clincher was my VERY picky, refined white garbage eating husband…when he tried it, “Oh wow. This is the best cake I’ve ever had!” Now we know it’s good! ;D Thank you for sharing it!

Tess Cook

Hi, Tess! I used erythritol and stevia. The “OR” it what separates the different options you can use for sweeteners. The reason that combinations of sweeteners are listed is because resulting flavor is better when you use multiple sugar-free sweeteners together versus when you use just one sugar-free sweetener.

Carlyn

November 20, 2012 at 3:54 am (2 years ago)

I am so disappointed that I did not get this recipe right. I was so excited to make it for a friends birthday and as I tried to transfer it to the cooling rack it fell apart. I pieced it back together the best I could and wrapped it and let it sit overnight as directed and it tasted not very good in the morning. Not moist or chocolatey like it should have. Where did I go wrong???

Red

November 22, 2012 at 8:18 am (2 years ago)

Hey Lauren,
This cake looks amazing! Really want to do it at home but have a couple questions. Would it be okay to only use date syrup as a sweetener substitute, and not the chemical ones you used? Also, do you have any suggestions what to use in place of eggs to make the cake vegan?
Looking forward to youer replies!

Hi Red, I have not been able to successfully veganize this cake due to its lack of flour. It would be quite gummy without eggs. It could, however, be made into vegan brownies. Vegan baking isn’t my forte as g-free, sugar-free items need some sort of ingredient for structure, and that’s usually eggs!

Deana Abbate

December 10, 2012 at 5:40 pm (2 years ago)

Hello Lauren, found your blog yesterday and am new to the gluten-free world. May I just say……..girl! These are the bomb-diggity! Holy Moly! I grew up baking with gluten in everything, I thought my world was over when I found out I couldn’t eat what I wanted. I had to take a sneak of the batter before I put it in the oven. I am baking while my hubby and kids are away so they have no clue what they are made of. Can’t wait to see their reactions when they bite into this!!! Thank you so much. I will be using this as my go-to cake for many years to come. Have a blessed day

Mary

Anna

February 20, 2013 at 12:42 am (2 years ago)

Hi. This looks awesome. Question, though. I only have NuNaturals More Fiber Baking Blend, which I suspect would alter the texture quite a bit, as it has additional starchy fillers so as to be used cup for cup like sugar. Otherwise, I have a blend of stevia and cane sugar. The produce is called Steviacane, and it says you used 1/2 C for every 1 C you would use of sugar. Given this, how much do you think I should use in this cake? If you told me about how much sugar to use in the recipe, I would just halve that with the steviacane and be dandy.

Staci

March 14, 2013 at 3:03 pm (2 years ago)

Hi there! My dad is diabetic and I really want to make this cake for him, but I have a question. We are very irish, and my dad LOVES guinness, and i have seen recipes for guinness chocolate cake and i would love to make this one for him but add guinness to it. I know that it will affect the carb count, but do you think adding guinness to the cake would affect it negatively? I don’t want it to turn out bad!

Tabitha

March 20, 2013 at 9:00 pm (2 years ago)

I can’t remember if I told you this is my go-to chocolate cake recipe now. I add a couple of TBS of coconut flour and it fakes out all the gluten eaters. They have been shocked that it’s not a “regular” cake -even when they see me eating it. It’s pretty comical.

I found you via the Spunky Coconut. You are just brilliant and I tell everyone I can about the cake and your site.

Katie M

April 6, 2013 at 2:37 am (2 years ago)

I just made this recipe for my husbands birthday dinner with the family tomorrow night… I even planned ahead so it could sit over night! but I couldn’t wait. After they cooled (I made cupcakes) i HAD to try a bite and this is probably the BEST low carb dessert i have had in MONTHS. Thank you!

trisha

Leah W

April 20, 2013 at 9:33 am (2 years ago)

I made this cake for my daughters birthday and I was a little hesitant to try it. WOW…. is all I can say. My 10 year old son was baking it with me and swore he was not going to even eat it. Well, he did try it after it was cooked and told me it tasted like brownies.
Now I doubled the recipe so I could make 2 9″ cakes and the cake over flowed onto the bottom of the oven. Next time I will hold back a bit for that. I did stick a tooth pick in it to see if it was done and it deflated on me. So any suggestion on how to make sure it’s cooked. I ended up having to cook it for an additional 15 mins because of too much batter. But the flavour and how moist it was AMAZING. I did your butter icing as well but instead of chocolate I used a little icing sugar and raspberry juice to naturally dye the icing pink.
I can’t wait to see how all my 6 year old girls will like it for tomorrow birthday party.
Thank You so much

Annmarie

April 26, 2013 at 3:50 am (2 years ago)

could you use truvia baking blend (stevia) in place of the erithritol? If so, would I need to use different measurements? I’m not sure if erithritol is as sweet as stevia or not. This cake looks delish! Thanks.

Annmarie, I haven’t tried that product, but looking at its ingredients, I’m guessing you could use the same amount of Truvia baking blend as the amount of erythritol listed in the recipe. Let me know how the cake turns out if you do try it with the Truvia baking blend, please!

Oh my goodness! I made it into cupcakes and they are in the oven right now. The batter tastes AMAZING!! I can’t wait to try it. I did use Truvia instead of erythritol which I think is making it sweeter but that is okay for our big sweet teeth around here. Thank you!

Synthe

June 13, 2013 at 11:54 pm (2 years ago)

AMAZINGLY good super-dark cake & frosting. Used erythritol & liquid stevia and got 12 fat cupcakes out of it. Did up the oven to 350 and they baked up fine. Did not refrigerate, just let them sit on the counter with a bit of plastic film on top. Recipe is actually better than traditional devil’s food chocolate cake! Texture is soft, moist, super dark chocolaty heaven! Did drop cocoa in frosting to 4T and added another 1/2t vanilla and 1/2T cream. This recipe is the very BESTEST GF/SF recipe I’ve tried My diabetic mother and daughter are bowing down to you, along with me! THANKS, thanks and thanks again!

Natalie

June 14, 2013 at 8:42 pm (2 years ago)

Seems my comment from yesterday didn’t send along with hundreds if others here – thank you for taking the time to create this recipe, it’s fantastic! I made it and it turned out perfectly. Would you mind if a friend if mine shared it in her ‘the cooking pot’ app? She accredits fully to the origin of the recipe.

nicki

July 23, 2013 at 8:46 pm (2 years ago)

I used Truvia and it was delicious! I’ve made this a few times. I haven’t tried the chocolate frosting, but I will this weekend, as I am making this cake for my mother’s birthday and chocolate frosting is her request. In the past I have made a cream cheese frosting for this recipe. I think I subbed the 3/4 cup erythritol for 1/2 cup Truvia and the 1/2 teaspoon stevia for 1/2 teaspoon Truvia, and it is FANTASTIC.

tina

July 27, 2013 at 1:20 am (2 years ago)

We used xylitol instead of erythritol. I don’t know if it was our oven or the xylitol that made us have to bake it almost 60 minutes. But it came out AWEsome! I have to say thank you! The hardest thing for him to give up on the low glycemic diet was Cake- And now we have it!! It’s MOIST, Chocolatey and rich! I did toss in a little bit of instant coffee in the batter. We love to do that with chocolate. I think we may try the cream cheese in the frosting next time for fun but I love the frosting above- it is light and fluffy!
Much thanks!!!

tina

July 31, 2013 at 1:26 pm (2 years ago)

All- FYI! We ate the first one and it was FAB- I know why your picture shows a glass of milk! So – I made the double recipe this time. With the 2 layer cake, I started my frosting but made a change. He LOVES Milk Chocolate. So I used Room-Temperature(very important), Salted butter- double recipe is 2 sticks, omitted the “pinch of salt in the recipe”, I fluffed it for a good 4 minutes. I did use my milling attachment on my NutriBullet to pulverize 1/2 cup of xylitol into dust- don’t go too long, it doesn’t like it and starts to warm and will clump- if this happens, just break it with a fork before putting into the butter. Add to the butter with a spatula and whip it again until fluffy- 2-3 minutes. Now Only add enough cocoa powder for a single batch (5 tbsps) but add 2x the vanilla as a double batch= 2 tsps. Stir in with a spatula carefully until Mixed. Omit the milk, omit the egg, omit the stevia. Now Whip it for 2 more minutes. It Tastes like those hollow chocolate bunnies that you only see at Easter!! Milk chocolate flavor and very light.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious, high protein, chocolate cake. We made it as written, using honey as the sweetener. Everyone thought it was FANTASTIC, moist, chocolatey and not too sweet. Nobody could guess the secret ingredient- is it spinach? is it beets? We paired it with a peanut butter cream cheese frosting (8 oz softened cream cheese, 4 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter and 1/4 cup of maple syrup- mixed together on high for almost a minute). I’ll definitely be making this again, and again, and again. Thank you for helping me feed my family (of two 3 1/2 year olds, and husband) a healthy chocolate cake.

OK, so we had to bake this AGAIN! The kids were asking again and again for it. This time we melted 1/2 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips into the butter and honey. Oh my goodness! I know, I just made your fabulously healthy recipe, not so healthy. But WOW! LIght, fluffy and extremely chocolatey. Thank you so much – again!

Mammy of 2

August 5, 2013 at 6:29 pm (2 years ago)

This cake is perfect! I made it along with 3 traditional (but each different) chocolate cakes & icings for cake tasting for a friend whose wedding cake I am making. Chocolate is to be one of 4 small cakes that will be on the dessert table along with the 3 tier main wedding cake (a lemon buttermilk cake with white chocolate buttercream icing). This cake beat out all the other chocolate cakes! I am thrilled that it is so healthy anyone can eat it! It tastes even better now – two days later. I am going to try a different (sugar free) icing as they thought it was too much chocolate. I like the idea of the peanut butter one that Theresa @ Two Much Fun posted and I’ll try that the next time I make this at home. For the wedding, I’ll stick with a vanilla or maybe a slightly spice (cardamom) icing. I don’t want anyone to miss out on ths cake in case they have a nut allergy.
Thank you so much for ths recipe! This is the go to chocolate for me!!!

mary

October 7, 2013 at 12:30 am (1 year ago)

I only used 3/4 cup of honey for the sugar part. Cake still turned out great. Used salted butter and added no salt. And I used chocolate whipped cream (cool whip mixed with some cocoa) for the topping.

thegrrrr8est

January 9, 2014 at 9:40 pm (1 year ago)

I don’t mean to butt in, but…..CoolWhip? Have you READ the ingredients on the label? There is no actual food in that witch’s brew….just a frothy cocktail of chemicals. Try real whipping cream or whipped coconut milk…way tastier and a thousand times better for you.

Hi, Cindy! You can find out the full nutrition information for the cake, unfrosted, made with erythritol and stevia (contain negligible carbohydrates and calories, so them out of the list of ingredients), by plugging the ingredients into this counter:http://caloriecount.about.com/

I do not track fat grams and protein, personally. Have not heard of Trim Healthy Mama.

Sugarbabyxoxox

October 29, 2013 at 8:02 am (1 year ago)

The reason the cake tastes salty is because of the salt in the can of beans! Try using low sodium canned beans from the health food store or bush beans now makes a 50 percent less sodium beans or cook your own in a slow cooker.

Sugarbabyxoxox

October 29, 2013 at 8:15 am (1 year ago)

Hi Lauren.. Love your website.. Thank you for all the great recipes! I have been a juvenile diabetic for 38 years now , and have used so many of the sugar alcohol sweeteners. But I only recently found out that erythritol is the only one with a zero rating glycemic impact! All the others will eventually raise the blood sugar , but it doesn’t happen until hours later( about 3-4 for me) So using erythritol has been a great choice for sweetening purposes. I love how you mix sweeteners too.. I often use the erythritol a little xylitol and a little stevia powder to make things taste sweeter. I can’t imagine how much time and money has gone into creating all these wonderful dessert recipes! But I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Sugarbabyxoxox

October 29, 2013 at 8:27 am (1 year ago)

Could you create a conversion chart for granulated erythritol = powdered erythritol ? It would be so helpful for us “sweetaholics” who want to bake sweets all the time that are on your website!!!! I usually grind down my granulated erythritol as soon as I buy it so that it is ready for using in your recipes. Thanks

Hi, Beth! If you do a Ctrf + F on this page (the find function), you’ll see a couple of comments re: egg replacer. Apparently the egg replacers people tried have failed. If you’re looking for a couple of egg free dessert recipes, here are a couple of good ones:

Hi, Dan! I have attempted to use only stevia as a sweetener in this recipe, and in many other recipes. Unfortunately, stevia is not sweet enough to use as the sole sweetener in most baked goods. The flavor of stevia becomes bitter when you use too much of it. To eliminate this bitter taste, I always use a second sweetener along with stevia to sweeten desserts. It “rounds out” the sweet taste.

Erythritol is a natural sweetener that seems to agree with most people. It has a very “clean” taste that pairs well with stevia’s high intensity sweetness. Perhaps that’s why the makers of Truvia use erythritol along with the stevia included in the mixture. The only drawback to using erythritol is that it can give pastries a “cool” mouthfeel that can be off-putting.

The sweetness of stevia also tends to break down a bit under heat. The finished baked good will always be less sweet than the batter or dough. If you follow tried and true recipes that incorporate stevia (like the ones on this blog) you can avoid wasting ingredients.

I’m glad you mentioned Sweetleaf stevia, Dan. I will be reviewing each brand of stevia on the market in an upcoming post.

Lauren Benning

David Rahrer

December 2, 2013 at 6:02 am (1 year ago)

I froze a couple of pieces when I made my first and they were just fine. I put them in the refrigerator the night before to defrost them properly. I used sealed plastic containers. And you better believe it’s delicious — for any cake, not just sugar free!

David Rahrer

November 30, 2013 at 8:11 am (1 year ago)

I have made two of these now, double recipes each for 2 layer cake. They were incredible! I made one for Thanksgiving so I could have a sugar free dessert, but others liked it as well. One question, I used butter in the frosting rather than shortening, but it turned out rather lightly colored rather than the deep chocolate brown in your pictures. It tasted wonderful, but I wonder if you ore anyone else knows why this would be? I didn’t use the raw egg yolk, though I can’t imagine that would be it. Thanks for all your work, I bought your book and between that and this website, I have lots to tame my sweet tooth safely!

David, that cake looks so yummy! The reason your frosting appears to be lighter than mine does in the photo is due to the Dutch processed cocoa powder I used. Hershey’s Special Dark was the one I had on hand that day. It is almost black in color. Its flavor is reminiscent of the taste of oreos. I’ll update the caption on the photo to reflect that information. Thanks for sharing your feedback! I am glad you’re enjoying the recipes from the blog.

David Rahrer

Janice Frisella

January 22, 2014 at 3:10 pm (1 year ago)

This was a fantastic recipe…thank you so much! I am a little confused about the nutritional info that you supplied with it…..the amount of protein for the whole cake seems very high….how did you calculate that?

Mindy Gillespie Seymour

February 24, 2014 at 3:23 am (1 year ago)

I just started Trim Healthy Mama and would like to know if this is an s or an e dessert. It says low carb so I would guess an s but the beans make me think e. Anyone know? Thank you!!! Can’t wait to try this!!

Erica

February 26, 2014 at 7:28 pm (1 year ago)

Hi There! I’m getting ready to make this as a double layer cake for the first time for my mom’s 60th birthday. When I talked with workers at Whole Foods about the sugars, they said I should be careful with the erythritol and xylitol because some people have trouble digesting sugar alcohols and in larger quantities it will likely cause diarrhea and upset stomach. Has anyone had that problem with this cake before? I bake all the time but this is the first time I am making a healthy cake, because my mother can’t have sugars or carbs in her diet. It looks totally delicious, I just don’t want to make everyone sick!

Hi, Erica! I have not heard any complaints after serving this cake (made with erythritol) to my friends and family. I don’t use much xylitol, but I do not recommend baking with it until you’re sure you can tolerate it. I’m quite sensitive to xylitol, so you don’t see much of it in the recipes on the website! Erythritol is the only sugar alcohols that does not cause me problems. Hope the cake turns out well for your mother’s birthday.

Karen

March 5, 2014 at 7:51 pm (1 year ago)

I’ve been making this recipe into 12 cupcakes with 1/4 c. batter for each. They’re WONDERFUL! A few observations: first, use a blend of erythritol, xylitol and Just Like Sugar for Baking (chickory root) to take off the edge of the flavor you can get with just erythritol alone. On my latest round, I subbed 1 T. date sugar for 1 T. of erythritol, and it made a noticeable improvement on the texture, much less crumbly to get out of a cupcake paper. ALSO, Trader Joe’s sells cans of coconut cream, which you have to actually scoop out of the can with a spoon. I used this in place of coconut milk in the frosting, and oh-my-goodness! Heavenly.

Karen, thank you for sharing your observations! Like you, I’ve found that combining sweeteners yields the tastiest results. I have not worked with date sugar yet, but am definitely intrigued! And coconut cream in the frosting recipe sounds divine.

Karen

March 6, 2014 at 8:08 pm (1 year ago)

I found out that date sugar actually has a much higher glycemic rating than the other sweeteners, comparable to table sugar, but by only subbing in a small amount, I’m thinking it won’t be a big health concern. I read that some regard it as a healthy alternative even with the higher rating because the dates don’t reduce during cooking or baking, and a lot of antioxidants.

Marmor

April 9, 2014 at 6:29 am (12 months ago)

Greetings from Norway:) I made your cake yesterday with agave syrup instead of honey ( had to have cake in the female desperate sort of way , but had no honey…)…. It turned out great! I am really impressed with your recipe! I think this will be my standard cake for every occation!

Marlies van der Meulen

April 29, 2014 at 5:59 pm (11 months ago)

Hello,
I’d like to make this secret ingrediënt cake ;), but at point 9 you have to add baking soda. But it’s not in the ingredients list , can you tell me how much to add. Greeting from the Netherlands.

Sherry Yancey

July 7, 2014 at 6:40 pm (9 months ago)

??? I’m so confused about the sweetener. How much am I supposed to use? And when do I add it–during the beans or during the butter? And, when you say Stevia, is it liquid or powder? (Can you tell I am new to this way of cooking?) Thanks.

Stacy Jarman

Food Foto Gallery

October 26, 2014 at 1:18 pm (5 months ago)

Lauren,

I’ve been following your blog for more years than I can count so thanks for all the great, innovative recipes.

Also, I would to personally invite you to share your gorgeous food photos with us over at Food Foto Gallery . com – In September alone, we had 28,239 visitors to the site & there’s no complicated approval process like the big guys. Any photos related to food (that are not watermarked & are of reasonable quality) are accepted & get posted automatically. Being a food blogger, myself, we also share our daily faves on social media, giving exposure to fellow foodies whenever we can.

Let me know if you have any questions and hope to see you at the site … Cj

This is the perfect site for anybody who wishes to understand this
topic. You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I personally will
need to…HaHa). You certainly put a brand new spin on a subject which has been discussed for years.
Wonderful stuff, just great!

Rachel Page

Fiona

March 16, 2015 at 12:02 am (2 weeks ago)

This was so yummy! I was a bit naughty and added salted caramel popcorn because it was a present. It was a bit bitter but on the upside, made the entire thing not sickly sweet. Thank you for the recipe!!

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I want to thank you for all the wonderful recipes you have posted on your blog. I love trying them and sharing them with my family. Your blog is amazing and an inspiration for us low-carb clean/health…

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Thank you for all the great recipes! I have been a juvenile diabetic for 38 years now, and have used so many of the sugar alcohol sweeteners. But I only recently found out that erythritol is the only …

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Lauren Benning! You’re a hero (heroine) of mine! I have no idea if you know who or what I am, but I started low-carbing in early 2010, at a time when you were doing a lot of blogging and your websit…

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